


because he's not being petty

by AssyEr



Series: Give Brian A Kiss On The Forehead [4]
Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Forehead Kisses, Gen, Heracles mentions, Mythology References, Oedipus mentions, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Sweet, Talking, UDAD, brian actually has two forehead kisses on this one, brian is based on Tiresias, brian uses he/she pronouns, cause he deserves it, who had quite a life really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28765215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssyEr/pseuds/AssyEr
Summary: On his part, Brian had been having a good time, as far as they knew. He had been working as a prophet, and made a big name of her own, too. Except from a few unfortunate encounters with the Olympians, he had told them she had been ‘happily busy’. That didn’t explain the sad expression on his face, however.Brian visits Ashes on the underground.
Relationships: Drumbot Brian & Ashes O'Reilly
Series: Give Brian A Kiss On The Forehead [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096034
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	because he's not being petty

It was cold on the Acheron, not that Ashes minded. They rarely felt cold, and even if the discomfort reached to them, they had their own ways of warming up the place. Making a fire was one. Throwing people to feed it was another. Right now they were content playing with their lighter, but that might change, depending on who their mysterious visitor was.

To come to their presence was no easy feat. Either you had some magnificent talent, payed ridiculous amounts of gold, or did something that really, really pissed them off.

The person that Ashes had been informed they were about to see was one of the second ones, luckily. They had commissioned a few special, pricey gifts for the rest of the crew, and this would manage to more than pay for it.

(Not that they needed the money. But they liked to keep their stash full)

Altogether, normal stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary.

They had not been expecting Brian, however.

He entered the throne room with guards on both of her sides, grabbing her arms. She was still wearing a bandage over his eyes, like the last time they had seen him. Ashes couldn’t exactly remember why he still kept using it, giving that her eyes must have long since healed by now, or why he had started on the first place. Something that had to do with Zeus and Hera, they recalled, but no other detail came to their mind.

To compensate his lack of vision, Brian had on her left hand a cane, some cheap thing made out of god’s knows what. Maybe it would make her accept the present they had selected for him.

She advanced confidently towards them, until the guards stopped, making him halt mid stride.

The guards didn’t have to ask him to kneel, after that. Everybody knew you had to in their presence.

Ashes sat back on their throne, enjoying the view. They watched Brian look uncertain at his cane for a moment, before letting it fall carelessly to the floor. It landed with a low _thump_ , before rolling away to the side.

They didn’t like that cane. It was ugly, and looked uncomfortable, and Brian deserved much better. They made a mental note to remember to burn it until nothing was left after giving the drumbot one much more worthy of her.

The clank of brass against metal floor got them out of their head, and Ashes looked in time to see Brian, one knee on the floor, doubt once again, this time not sure of what to do with her other leg. He was quick to remember, however, resting his left knee next to his right, before lowering her head.

It hadn’t been that long since he came down here, had it?

Ashes tried to think back, and realized it must have been a decade at least. That was not ideal. They would make plans to avoid the situation from happening again.

“I did the Oedipus’s job” she finally says.

They hum in response, pleased. They didn’t know exactly why they had ordered him to do it, to expose the man’s secret, but there was something inside of them that told them that it would pay off in the end.

The end. Ashes hoped that was near. They were getting bored of The City.

On his part, Brian had been having a good time, as far as they knew. He had been working as a prophet, and made a big name of her own, too. Except from a few unfortunate encounters with the Olympians, he had told them she had been ‘happily busy’. That didn’t explain the sad expression on his face, however.

That wouldn’t do. Ashes got up and walked towards her, already thinking of what they would do to whoever had ruined their crewmate’s mood. They smiled as the guards step away, and raised a hand to pet her now longer hair. He leaned into the touch.

“You don’t look alright,” Ashes commented.

Brian made a lazy noise, not really in the mood to talk. “Just tired,” he replied. “I was hoping to stay with you for a while, if that’s good for you”

They let go of her hair to raise his face towards them. “Of course, darling,” they answered her, taking the chance to leave a small kiss on his forehead, letting out a short chuckle when he sighed in return.

Ashes gave him the rest of the day to rest and settle on his new room, but couldn’t hold themself to wait any longer before giving her a visit. It had been a long time since they saw the pilot, and they wanted to catch up, know what she had been up to.

Plus, they had his gift. A golden cane, with all kind of gemstones incrusted along its length. And there, engraved in silver letters, _Tiresias_ , as most people on the street referred to him by. It was kind of heavy to be of much use, yes, but Brian’s muscles were literally made of brass. She would be fine. Besides, it’s not like he had to keep pretending being blind down here.

They knock the door of her room, and enter as soon as she gives them permission to do so. Ashes quickly searches the room, not spotting him immediately, but smiles upon finding her laying on one of the couch of the place, moping. And still with the piece of cloth covering his eyes.

“Don’t you want to get that out of your face?” they ask him, not bothering to clarify, as they move her legs to sit on the same couch and hides the present somewhere out of the drumbot’s view.

He huffs, placing his legs on top of theirs. “I forgot I had it,” he comments, before untying it and putting it on a pocket of his coat. “It’s been a while,” she excuses herself.

Ashes decides a bit of teasing is okay at the moment. “Were you afraid Don Zeus stopped paying for your immortality?” they joked.

She looked at them, unamused. “Very funny,” she told them, sarcastically. Then, noticing something poking from the side of the couch, sat up. “What is that?” she asked, eyes full of suspicion.

He had come here for peace, after all. If Ashes was in the mood to try and murder her…

“A present,” they said instead, surprising the drumbot. Before he knew it, she had the gold cane on his arms. “Do you like it?”

Of course he likes it, she replies. It was a beautiful thing, the kind of art that could only be accomplished by a master of the craft, and even then the time that must have been dedicated to it, Brian couldn’t even start to imagine. She turns it in her hands, taking his time to admire how the light reflects on its length, until she finds what she had been looking for. A small signature on the bottom, an iron mallet. Hephaestus work, then. The drumbot didn’t want to think about how much of their stash it had costed Ashes to get.

Before he could say anything more, they spoke again. “But seriously, what got you down?” they ask, a bit of concern bleeding on their tone.

Brian lays down again, closing her eyes to weight her options. He will feel bad if he begins to talk about it, that gloomy feeling will get all over her again like it had done so those last few days. But then, maybe it would do her good to get that weight out of his chest. He tries to ask herself what’s the right thing to do, but finds she doesn’t really have an answer to that. Instead, he wonders what Jonny would do on her position, and sighs before starting to do the exact opposite to that.

“Nothing in particular, just… I’m getting tired, I guess.” He stops for a moment, wondering exactly where to begin, before continuing, eyes still closed. “Do you remember that family that lived next to me, a decade ago? Maybe two”

Ashes hums, trying to remember. “The one with that mother, who had a kid with Zeus?”

“That’s the one,” Brian confirms. “I don’t remember telling you, but the father of the child, he came to me on an occasion. Do you know how Zeus likes to keep an eye on his- on the results of his adventures?” Ashes laughs a bit at the phrasing, but she continues as if nothing. “He isn’t exactly discreet, you know, and the father was realizing something was up. So there he was, one morning in the middle of my kitchen, demanding to know if I knew something about it”

They could picture it, Brian making tea or whatever she was up to those days, and this old man just banging in, demanding to know if his child was really his. “And what did you do?”

Brian punches a pillow next to her, clearly still annoyed at the encounter. “What was I supposed to do? The man was sick, and he clearly didn’t have much time left. I didn’t want him to live the rest of his life feeling miserable”

Ashes can see past his excuses, the anxiety over having made the right choice. Still, they couldn’t hold a smile, amused. “So? Brian, what did you tell him?”

She sighs. “That I had had a vision. That the kid was strong, very strong, and destined to big things. That he could even become an Olympian, and that’s why Zeus was keeping an eye on him”

This time they don’t even try to contain the laughter, giggling hysterically, until Brian gets tired of their attitude and starts smacking their head with her new cane. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just. Damn Brian. You could just have told him no”

Her guilt starts to eat her up again from the insides. Ashes, on their part, payed no mind, focused instead on cleaning the tears that had escaped from their eyes. “Fuck off. I, I had to explain Zeus interest. You weren’t there.” The quartermaster mumbles a ‘yeah, yeah’, clearly still amused, but he keeps talking. “You know what the worst part is? The kid might as well do it. His father had been training him since then for years, but still. I’ve seen him, and he is _really_ strong”

Now, _that_ interest them. Ashes makes a mental note to keep their own eye on the kid, too. To impress Brian was no small feat, and they were always looking for more. Employees, to say it lightly.

She sits up once again, taking her knees to his chest, hugging them. “Do you think I ruined his life?”

“To be honest, if he really is one of Don Zeus spawns, his life was already fucked”

Brian hadn’t been expecting a compassionate answer, nor did he feel bad about not getting back. She rests against their side, instead, deep in thought. “You do have a point,” he concedes, already feeling a bit better.

Ashes moves to adjust her, putting an arm around him in a half embrace. “Feeling better?” they ask her.

“Yeah,” she answers, before moving his head to look at them. “I’m fine, just being petty, I guess”

That wouldn’t do, they thought. “No,” they said, putting a finger on his lips. “No such thing as being petty while you stay here”

He smiles at them, amused. “And how long would that be?” She tries to tease.

They already had an answer to that. “For as long as you want to. Or until I burn this place down.” Brian laughs at that, making Ashes smile. They see the opportunity and take it, leaning onto her to leave a soft kiss on his forehead. “But while you’re still here, what do you want for dinner?”

**Author's Note:**

> Brian is based on Tiresias myth, a prophet who had a really cool life and you should google him up. But shortly, he  
> -changed from man to woman and from woman to man many times, depending on the myth  
> -got blinded for diverse reasons, depending on the version  
> -in one of those versions, it was because he got in the middle of one of Hera's and Zeus's quarrels. Hera got him blind, and Zeus got sad, but did not undo her curse. Instead, he gave him a lifespan of seven lives  
> -He is the one that told everyone that Oedipus had killed his own father (tough he refused at first)  
> -a few poets (Píndaro and Teócrito) mention him as being involved in the whole Heracle stuff, on Heracle's early days  
> -Ulysses seeks his advice at one point after the prophet's death, in which he rises from the Hades and is described to have a gold cane  
> So yeah
> 
> Thank you for reading! If you feel like leaving one, kudos and comments literally make my day


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